Solid-state image pickup unit and electronic apparatus

ABSTRACT

A solid-state image pickup unit includes: a substrate made of a first semiconductor; a substrate made of a first semiconductor; a photoelectric conversion device provided on the substrate and including a first electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer, and a second electrode in order from the substrate; and a plurality of field-effect transistors configured to perform signal reading from the photoelectric conversion device. The plurality of transistors include a transfer transistor and an amplification transistor, the transfer transistor includes an active layer containing a second semiconductor with a larger band gap than that of the first semiconductor, and one terminal of a source and a drain of the transfer transistor also serves the first electrode or the second electrode of the photoelectric conversion device, and the other terminal of the transfer transistor is connected to a gate of the amplification transistor.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/581,317, filed Apr. 28, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/581,128, filed Apr. 28, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No.10,008,524, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/759,734, filed Jul. 8, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,954,018, which is anational stage application under 35 U.S.C. 371 and claims the benefit ofPCT Application No. PCT/JP2013/084053 having an international filingdate of Dec. 19, 2013, which designated the United States, which PCTapplication claimed the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2013-005274, filed Jan. 16, 2013, the entire disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a laminated solid-state image pickupunit including, for example, a photoelectric conversion device on asemiconductor substrate, and an electronic apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, in solid-state image pickup units such as CCDs (ChargeCoupled Devices) and CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor)image sensors, the number of photons entering a pixel is reduced withreduction in pixel size, and reduction in sensitivity is concernedaccordingly. Therefore, a so-called laminated solid-state image pickupunit is adopted as a solid-state image pickup unit that makes itpossible to achieve an improvement in sensitivity. In the laminatedsolid-state image pickup unit, an aperture ratio of a photoelectricconversion region is allowed to be increased by forming a photoelectricconversion layer above a semiconductor substrate made of silicon or thelike.

On the other hand, a longitudinal spectral solid-state image pickup unitin which photodiodes of respective colors R, G, and B are longitudinallylaminated has been proposed, and in this configuration, respective colorsignals of R, G, and B are allowed to be obtained without using a colorfilter. Therefore, light loss caused by the color filter is eliminated,and almost entire entered light is allowed to be used for photoelectricconversion, thereby improving image quality. In particular, aconfiguration in which a photoelectric conversion layer different fromsilicon is formed above a silicon substrate is attracting attention asthis longitudinal spectral solid-state image pickup unit. Thisconfiguration makes it possible to improve color separationcharacteristics, compared to a case where all of photodiodes of R, G,and B are formed in a silicon substrate.

However, a typical buried photodiode configuration used whenphotoelectric conversion and electric charge storage are performed inthe silicon substrate is not applicable to the above-described laminatedsolid-state image pickup unit. Therefore, a contact section configuredto electrically connect the inside and the outside of the siliconsubstrate to each other is provided; however, this contact sectioncauses occurrence of a dark current.

To suppress such occurrence of the dark current, there has been proposeda technique of storing an electric charge generated by photoelectricconversion in not an electric charge storage layer (an impuritydiffusion layer) in a silicon substrate but a gate electrode ofamplification transistor (for example, refer to PTLs 1 and 2).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

PTL 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-80953

PTL 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-87544

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

It is desired to achieve, by a technique different from PTLs 1 and 2, aunit configuration having high reliability while suppressing a darkcurrent with use of the gate electrode of the amplification transistor.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a solid-state image pickup unitand an electronic apparatus each of which makes it possible to suppressoccurrence of a dark current generation, thereby achieving highreliability.

A first solid-state image pickup unit according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure includes: a substrate made of a first semiconductor;a photoelectric conversion device provided on the substrate andincluding a first electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer, and asecond electrode in order from the substrate; and a plurality offield-effect transistors configured to perform signal reading from thephotoelectric conversion device. The plurality of transistors include atransfer transistor and an amplification transistor, the transfertransistor includes an active layer containing a second semiconductorwith a larger band gap than that of the first semiconductor, and oneterminal of a source and a drain of the transfer transistor also servesthe first electrode or the second electrode of the photoelectricconversion device, and the other terminal of the transfer transistor isconnected to a gate of the amplification transistor.

In the first solid-state image pickup unit according to the embodimentof the present disclosure, in a configuration in which the photoelectricconversion device is provided on the substrate made of the firstsemiconductor, one terminal of the source and the drain of the transfertransistor also serves as the first electrode or the second electrode ofthe photoelectric conversion device, and the other terminal is connectedto the gate of the amplification transistor. Therefore, a pn junction isnot formed in a transmission path of an electric charge extracted fromthe photoelectric conversion device, and generation of a dark currentcaused by a depletion layer is suppressed. Moreover, when the activelayer of the transfer transistor contains the second semiconductor witha larger band gap than that of the first semiconductor, generation of adark current caused by a minority electric charge generated in thetransfer transistor or a dark current caused by a diffusion current issuppressed.

A second solid-state image pickup unit according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure includes: a substrate made of a first semiconductor;a photoelectric conversion device provided on the substrate andincluding a first electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer, and asecond electrode in order from the substrate; and a plurality offield-effect transistors configured to perform signal reading from thephotoelectric conversion device. The plurality of transistors include areset transistor and an amplification transistor, the reset transistorincludes an active layer containing a second semiconductor with a largerband gap than that of the first semiconductor, and the first electrodeor the second electrode of the photoelectric conversion device isconnected to one terminal of a source and a drain of the resettransistor, and is connected to a gate of the amplification transistor.

In the second solid-state image pickup unit according to the embodimentof the present disclosure, in a configuration in which the photoelectricconversion device is provided on the substrate made of the firstsemiconductor, the first electrode or the second electrode of thephotoelectric conversion device is connected to one terminal of thesource and the drain of the reset transistor, and is connected to thegate of the amplification transistor. Therefore, a pn junction is notformed in a transmission path of an electric charge extracted from thephotoelectric conversion device, and generation of a dark current causedby a depletion layer is suppressed. Moreover, when the active layer ofthe reset transistor contains the second semiconductor with a largerband gap than that of the first semiconductor, generation of a darkcurrent caused by a minority electric charge generated in the resettransistor or a dark current caused by a diffusion current issuppressed.

A first electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure includes the first solid-state image pickup unit according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure.

A second electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure includes the second solid-state image pickup unit accordingto the embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the first solid-state image pickup unit and the first electronicapparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, in theconfiguration in which the photoelectric conversion device is providedon the substrate made of the first semiconductor, the active layer ofthe transfer transistor contains the second semiconductor with a largerband gap than that of the first semiconductor, and one terminal of thesource and the drain of the transfer transistor also serves as the firstelectrode or the second electrode of the photoelectric conversiondevice, and the other terminal of the transfer transistor is connectedto the gate of the amplification transistor. Therefore, generation of adark current is allowed to be suppressed, and a unit configuration withhigh reliability is achievable accordingly.

In the second solid-state image pickup unit and the second electronicapparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, in theconfiguration in which the photoelectric conversion device is providedon the substrate made of the first semiconductor, the active layer ofthe reset transistor contains the second semiconductor with a largerband gap than that of the first semiconductor, and the first electrodeor the second electrode of the photoelectric conversion device isconnected to one terminal of the source and the drain of the resettransistor, and is connected to the gate of the amplificationtransistor. Therefore, generation of a dark current is allowed to besuppressed, and a unit configuration with high reliability is achievableaccordingly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a schematicconfiguration of a solid-state image pickup unit according to a firstembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an equivalent circuit diagram illustrating a connectionrelationship between a photoelectric conversion device and a transistorillustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example of a layout of awide gap semiconductor layer and a gate electrode illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4A is a schematic view for describing an action by a gate length ofthe gate electrode illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4B is a schematic view for describing the action by the gate lengthof the gate electrode illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a schematicconfiguration of a solid-state image pickup unit according to acomparative example.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view for describing an effect of suppressing adark current by a wide gap semiconductor.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a schematicconfiguration of a solid-state image pickup unit according toModification Example 1.

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a schematicconfiguration of a solid-state image pickup unit according toModification Example 2.

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a schematicconfiguration of a solid-state image pickup unit according toModification Example 3.

FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a schematicconfiguration of a solid-state image pickup unit according to a secondembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is an equivalent circuit diagram illustrating a connectionrelationship between a photoelectric conversion device and a transistorillustrated in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example of a layout ofthe transistor and a photodiode illustrated in FIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view illustrating a layout of a resettransistor illustrated in FIG. 10.

FIG. 14 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a schematicconfiguration of a solid-state image pickup unit according toModification Example 4.

FIG. 15 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a schematicconfiguration of a solid-state image pickup unit according toModification Example 5.

FIG. 16 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a schematicconfiguration of a solid-state image pickup unit according toModification Example 6.

FIG. 17 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a schematicconfiguration of a solid-state image pickup unit according toModification Example 7.

FIG. 18 is a functional block diagram illustrating an entireconfiguration of any of the solid-state image pickup units illustratedin FIGS. 1 and 10.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of anelectronic apparatus using any of the solid-state image pickup unitsillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 10.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detailbelow referring to the accompanying drawings. It is to be noted thatdescription will be given in the following order.

1. First Embodiment (An example of a solid-state image pickup unit (4Tr)in which a source of a transfer transistor also serves as a lowerelectrode of a photoelectric conversion device and a drain of thetransfer transistor is connected to a gate of an amplificationtransistor)2. Modification Example 1 (An example in a case where a light-shieldinglayer is used)3. Modification Example 2 (An example in a case where a UV-cut filter isused)4. Modification Example 3 (An example in a case where active layers andsources/drains of all of 4Tr are formed of a wide gap semiconductor)5. Second Embodiment (An example of a solid-state image pickup unit(3Tr) in which a gate of an amplification transistor and a source of arest transistor made of a wide gap semiconductor are connected to alower electrode of a photoelectric conversion device)6. Modification Example 4 (An example in a case where a light-shieldinglayer is used)7. Modification Example 5 (Another example in the case where thelight-shielding layer is used)8. Modification Example 6 (An example in a case where a UV-cut filter isused)9. Modification Example 7 (An example in a case where active layers andsources/drains of all of 3Tr are formed of a wide gap semiconductor)9. Application Example 1 (An entire configuration example of asolid-state image pickup unit)10. Application Example 2 (An example of an electronic apparatus(camera))

First Embodiment

[Configuration]

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a sectional configuration of asolid-state image pickup unit (a solid-state image pickup unit 1)according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. Thesolid-state image pickup unit 1 may be, for example, a CCD, a CMOS imagesensor, or the like. It is to be noted that FIG. 1 illustrates a regioncorresponding to one pixel of a pixel section (a pixel section 1 aillustrated in FIG. 18) that will be described later. Moreover, afront-side illumination configuration will be described below as anexample; however, a back-side illumination configuration may be adopted.

In the solid-state image pickup unit 1, for example, a photoelectricconversion device 10 may be formed on a surface S1 (a circuit formationsurface) of a semiconductor substrate 11 made of silicon (Si) with amultilayer wiring layer 12 in between. For example, a plurality of pixeltransistors may be provided on the surface S1 of the semiconductorsubstrate 11 as drive devices configured to perform signal reading fromthe photoelectric conversion device 10. More specifically, fourtransistors in total, i.e., a transfer transistor Tr1(TRF), a resettransistor Tr2(RST), an amplification transistor Tr3(AMP), and aselection transistor Tr4(SEL) (that hereinafter may be simply referredto as “transistors Tr1 to Tr4”, respectively) are formed. Thesolid-state image pickup unit 1 has a so-called 4Tr configuration inwhich signal reading from the photoelectric conversion device 10 isperformed with use of these four transistors Tr1 to Tr4. On the surfaceS1 of this semiconductor substrate 11, such transistors Tr1 to Tr4 areprovided, and a peripheral circuit configured of a logic circuit and thelike is formed. Specific configurations of the transistors Tr1 to Tr4will be described later.

(Photoelectric Conversion Device 10)

The photoelectric conversion device 10 may be, for example, an organicphotoelectric conversion device configured to generate an electron-holepair by absorbing light of a selective wavelength (for example, greenlight) or light of an entire wavelength with use of an organicsemiconductor. The photoelectric conversion device 10 has aconfiguration in which an organic photoelectric conversion layer 15 issandwiched between a lower electrode 13A (a first electrode) and anupper electrode 16 (a second electrode) as a pair of electrodesconfigured to extract an electric charge. An inter-pixel insulating film14 having an opening H is formed on the lower electrode 13A, andphotoelectric conversion regions of respective pixels are isolated fromone another by the inter-pixel insulating film 14. On the upperelectrode 16, a protective film is formed, and if necessary, aplanarization film, an on-chip lens, and the like may be formed.Respective components will be described in detail below.

The lower electrode 13A may be provided for each pixel, and an electriccharge (for example, an electron) extracted from this lower electrode13A is read as a signal charge. In this embodiment, as will be describedin detail later, this lower electrode 13A serves as a storage layer foran electric charge generated in the organic photoelectric conversionlayer 15, and corresponds to a terminal section (for example, a source)of the transfer transistor Tr1, and is configured to contain a wide gapsemiconductor.

The inter-pixel insulating film 14 may be configured of, for example, asingle-layer film made of one kind of silicon oxide, silicon nitride,and silicon oxynitride (SiON), or a laminate film made of two or morekinds of them. This inter-pixel insulating film 14 has a function ofelectrically isolating the lower electrodes 13A of respective pixelsfrom one another.

The organic photoelectric conversion layer 15 is configured to performphotoelectric conversion on light of a selective wavelength or an entirewavelength, and may desirably contain one or both of P-type and N-typeorganic semiconductors. As such organic semiconductors, one kind of aquinacridone derivative, a naphthalene derivative, an anthracenederivative, a phenanthrene derivative, a tetracene derivative, a pyrenederivative, a perylene derivative, and a fluoranthene derivative may bepreferably used. Alternatively, a polymer such as phenylenevinylene,fluorene, carbazole, indole, pyrene, pyrrole, picoline, thiophene,acetylene, or diacetylene, or a derivative thereof may be used. Inaddition, a metal complex dye, a cyanine-based dye, a merocyanine-baseddye, a phenylxanthene-based dye, a triphenylmethane-based dye, arhodacyanine-based dye, a xanthene-based dye, a macrocyclicazaannulene-based dye, an azulene-based dye, naphthoquinone, ananthraquinone-based dye, a fused polycyclic aromatic group such asanthracene or pyrene, a chain compound prepared by fusing an aromaticring or a heterocyclic compound, quinoline having a squarylium group anda croconic methine group as a joining chain, two or morenitrogen-containing heterocyclic rings such as benzothiazole orbenzoxazol, a cyanine-like dye bonded by a squarylium group and acroconic methine group, or the like may be preferably used. It is to benoted that, as the above-described metal complex dye, a dithiol metalcomplex-based dye, a metal phthalocyanine dye, a metal porphyrin dye, ora ruthenium complex dye may be preferable; however, the metal complexdye is not limited thereto.

This organic photoelectric conversion layer 15 may be formed at least ina region facing the opening H serving as a photoelectric conversionregion; however, the organic photoelectric conversion layer 15 may bedesirably formed also in a region other than the opening H to cover aregion facing a wide gap semiconductor layer 13 that will be describedlater. In this case, the wide gap semiconductor layer 13 may be made of,for example, an oxide semiconductor as will be described later; however,in this case, transistor characteristics are easily varied with respectto a wavelength that the oxide semiconductor absorbs specifically in ashort wavelength region (for example, 400 nm or less). Therefore, whenthe organic photoelectric conversion layer 15 is formed above thesemiconductor layer 13, such a short wavelength is allowed to be blockedby the organic photoelectric conversion layer 15, thereby suppressingdeterioration in the transistor characteristics. It is to be noted that,any other unillustrated layer may be provided between the organicphotoelectric conversion layer 15 and the lower electrode 13A andbetween the organic photoelectric conversion layer 15 and the upperelectrode 16. For example, a under coat film, an electron blocking film,the organic photoelectric conversion layer 15, a hole blocking film, abuffer film, a work function adjustment film, and the like may belaminated in order from the lower electrode 13A.

The upper electrode 16 is configured of a conductive film having lighttransmittance. Examples of such a conductive film may include ITO(indium tin oxide). However, as the material of the lower electrode 13A,in addition to this ITO, a tin oxide (SnO₂)-based material doped with adopant, or a zinc oxide (ZnO)-based material doped with a dopant may beused. Examples of the zinc oxide-based material may include aluminumzinc oxide (AZO) containing aluminum (Al) as a dopant, gallium zincoxide (GZO) containing gallium (Ga) as a dopant, and indium zinc oxide(IZO) containing indium (In) as a dopant. Moreover, in addition to them,CuI, InSbO₄, ZnMgO, CuInO₂, MgIn₂O₄, CdO, ZnSnO₃, and the like may beused. It is to be noted that, when a signal charge (an electron) areread from the lower electrode 13A, an electric charge (for example, ahole) extracted from the upper electrode 16 are discharged; therefore,the upper electrodes 16 of respective pixels may be isolated from oneanother, or the upper electrode 16 may be formed as a common electrodefor respective pixels.

(Transistors Tr1 to Tr4)

Each of the transfer transistor Tr1, the reset transistor Tr2, theamplification transistor Tr3, and the selection transistor Tr4 may be,for example, a field-effect thin film transistor (TFT) having threeterminals, i.e., a gate, a source, and a drain.

In this embodiment, the reset transistor Tr2, the amplificationtransistor Tr3, and the selection transistor Tr4 of these transistorsTr1 to Tr4 are formed on the surface S1 of the semiconductor substrate11 (more specifically, in proximity to an interface between thesemiconductor substrate 11 and the multilayer wiring layer 12). Forexample, active layers and source/drain layers (layers functioning as asource or a drain) 114 of the transistors Tr2 to Tr4 are formed in ap-type semiconductor well region of a surface layer of the surface S1 ofthe semiconductor substrate 11. Gate electrodes 111, 112, and 113 of thetransistors Tr2 to Tr4 are formed on the surface S1 of the semiconductorsubstrate 11 with an insulating film in between. The source/drain layers114 are so formed as to be buried as n-type impurity diffusion layers inthe semiconductor substrate 11. Moreover, in this case, the source/drainlayer 114 is shared between the reset transistor Tr2 and theamplification transistor Tr3, and the source/drain layer 114 is sharedbetween the amplification transistor Tr3 and the selection transistorTr4. It is to be noted that except for the transfer transistor Tr1, thetransistors Tr2 to Tr4 may be shared between pixels (for example,adjacent pixels).

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a pixel circuit including thephotoelectric conversion device 10 and the transistors Tr1 to Tr4. Thus,the pixel circuit of this embodiment includes one photoelectricconversion device and four transistors Tr1 to Tr4, and a cathode of thephotoelectric conversion device 10 is connected to one terminal (forexample, the source) of the source and the drain of the transfertransistor Tr1. The other terminal (for example, the drain) of thetransfer transistor Tr1 is connected to a gate (a gate electrode 112) ofthe amplification transistor Tr3 and a terminal (for example, thesource) of the reset transistor Tr2. The drain of the amplificationtransistor Tr3 may be connected to, for example, the drain of the resettransistor Tr2, and the source of the amplification transistor Tr3 maybe connected to, for example, the source of the selection transistorTr4. The drain of the selection transistor Tr4 may be connected to, forexample, a vertical signal line Lsig that will be described later. Thegate (a gate electrode 113) of this selection transistor Tr4 isconnected to a pixel drive line Lread that will be described later.

As described above, while the transistors Tr2 to Tr4 including theamplification transistor Tr3 of the transistors Tr1 to Tr4 are formed onthe surface S1 of the semiconductor substrate 11, the transfertransistor Tr1 is provided on the multilayer wiring layer 1 above thesemiconductor substrate 11.

The transfer transistor Tr1 includes an active layer (an active layer13C) containing a semiconductor with a larger band gap (hereinafterreferred to as “wide gap semiconductor”) than that of the material (forexample, silicon) of the semiconductor substrate 11. A region serving asthe source of the transfer transistor Tr1 also serves as the lowerelectrode 13A. More specifically, the transfer transistor Tr1 includes awide gap semiconductor layer 13 provided on the multilayer wiring layer12 and a gate electrode 120 that is disposed to face a part of the widegap semiconductor layer 13. A part facing the gate electrode 120 of thewide gap semiconductor layer 13 functions as the active layer 13C, andincludes a region that is adjacent to the active layer 13C and functionsas the source and the lower electrode 13A and a portion (a FD 13B)functioning as a drain. The FD 13B functioning as the drain forms aso-called floating diffusion. As described above, this FD 13B may beconnected to the gate electrode 112 of the amplification transistor Tr3through, for example, a wiring layer 121 formed in the multilayer wiringlayer 12. Moreover, this FD 13B is also connected to the source/drainlayer 114 of the reset transistor Tr2.

The wide gap semiconductor layer 13 may be made of a wide gapsemiconductor, for example, an oxide semiconductor including one or morekinds of indium (In), zinc (Zn), gallium (Ga), and the like.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a planar (a plane along the surface S1of the semiconductor substrate 11) layout of the wide gap semiconductorlayer 13 and the gate electrode 120. In the wide gap semiconductor layer13, the lower electrode 13A may have, for example, a square or arectangular shape covering a light reception region (a region facing theopening H) of the photoelectric conversion device 10 in such a manner.The wide gap semiconductor layer 13 may have a protruded portion (aprotrusion section 13BC) along a predetermined direction from a cornerof such a shape of the lower electrode 13A, and the gate electrode 120is so disposed as to straddle a part of the protrusion section 13BC. Aportion exposed from the gate electrode 120 of the protrusion section13BC serves as the FD 13B.

In the transfer transistor Tr1, a gate length a of the gate electrode120 may be desirably set to a predetermined length or longer. In thiscase, as illustrated in FIG. 4A, when the gate length a of the transfertransistor Tr1 is long (a=a1), a leakage current (a dark current) fromthe lower electrode 13A to the FD 13B is less likely to be generated inan off state; however, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, when the gate length ais too short (a=a2), a dark current is more likely to be increased by ashort channel effect. Therefore, the gate length a of the transfertransistor Tr1 may be desirably set to a length at which a dark currentcaused by such a short channel effect is allowed to be suppressed, orlonger.

[Action and Effects]

In the above-described solid-state image pickup unit 1, when lightenters the photoelectric conversion device 10 from the upper electrode16, a part or a whole of the entered light is detected (absorbed) by theorganic photoelectric conversion layer 15. Therefore, in the organicphotoelectric conversion layer 15, an electron-hole pair is generated,and one (for example, an electron) of the electron-hole pair is read asa signal charge. It is to be noted that a case where the signal chargeand the electron are read from the lower electrode 13A will be describedas an example below.

More specifically, first, in an electric charge storage state (a statein which the reset transistor Tr2 and the transfer transistor Tr1 areoff), the lower electrode 13A is reset to a predetermined voltage, and arelatively low voltage with respect to the reset voltage is applied tothe upper electrode 16. Thus, the electron of the electron-hole pairgenerated in the organic photoelectric conversion layer 15 is guided tothe lower electrode 13A that has a relatively high potential (a hole isguided to the upper electrode 16).

In this case, in this embodiment, the transfer transistor Tr1 includesthe active layer 13C containing the wide gap semiconductor and thesource of the transfer transistor Tr1 serves as the lower electrode 13A.Therefore, in a state in which the transfer transistor Tr1 is off, theelectron generated in the organic photoelectric conversion layer 15 isguided to the lower electrode 13A to be stored in the lower electrode13A (The source of the transfer transistor Tr1 functions as an electriccharge storage layer).

The electron stored in the lower electrode 13A is transferred to the FD13B during a reading operation. More specifically, a predetermined ONpotential is applied to the gate electrode 120 of the transfertransistor Tr1, and the transfer transistor Tr1 is turned on, theelectric charge (electron) stored in the lower electrode 13A istransferred to the FD 13B. The electric charge transferred to the FD 13Bis read as a voltage signal to the vertical signal line Lsig that willbe described later through the amplification transistor Tr3, theselection transistor Tr4, and the like.

After this reading operation, when both the reset transistor Tr2 and thetransfer transistor Tr1 are turned on, the FD 13B and the gate electrode112 of the amplification transistor Tr3 may be reset to a power supplyvoltage VDD accordingly. Therefore, the lower electrode 13A is depleted,and after that, when the transfer transistor Tr1 is turned off, thestate is transitioned to the above-described electric charge storagestate.

(Comparative Example)

FIG. 5 illustrates a sectional configuration of a solid-state imagepickup unit according to a comparative example. In this comparativeexample, as with the solid-state image pickup unit of this embodiment, aphotoelectric conversion device 1010 is formed on the surface S1 of asemiconductor substrate 1011 with a multilayer wiring layer 1012. Thephotoelectric conversion device 1010 is configured by laminating anorganic photoelectric conversion layer 1014 and an upper electrode 1015on a lower electrode 1013. Moreover, a plurality of transistors (in thiscase, for simplification, only a reset transistor Tr101 and anamplification transistor Tr102 are illustrated) configured to performsignal reading from the photoelectric conversion device 1010 are formedon the surface S1 of the semiconductor substrate 1011. In aconfiguration of such a laminated solid-state image pickup unit, in thecomparative example, the lower electrode 1013 is stored in an n-typeimpurity diffusion layer 1019 formed in a surface layer of thesemiconductor substrate 1011.

In this comparative example, an electron generated in the organicphotoelectric conversion layer 1014 is stored in the n-type impuritydiffusion layer 1019 formed in the semiconductor substrate 1011 throughthe lower electrode 1013 and a wiring line 1020. At this time, then-type impurity diffusion layer 1019 is formed in a p-type well regionof the semiconductor substrate 1011; therefore, a pn junction occurs,and a depletion layer is formed at an interface of this junction. Whenan interface, with a large number of defects, between silicon andsilicon oxide comes into contact with such a depletion layer, a darkcurrent is generated, thereby causing deterioration in devicecharacteristics.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, as described above, the source ofthe transfer transistor Tr1 also serves the lower electrode 13A of thephotoelectric conversion device 10, and the drain (the FD 13B) of thetransfer transistor Tr1 is connected to the gate electrode 112 of theamplification transistor Tr3. Therefore, a pn junction is not formed inan electric charge transmission path from the photoelectric conversiondevice 10 to the semiconductor substrate 11 (at least a path from thelower electrode 13A to the FD 13B), and generation of a dark currentcaused by the depletion layer in the comparative example is suppressed.

Moreover, the source of the transfer transistor Tr1 functions as thelower electrode 13A of the photoelectric conversion device 10, and alsofunctions as an electric charge storage layer. Since this transfertransistor Tr1 includes the active layer 13A containing the wide gapsemiconductor (for example, an oxide semiconductor), a hole-electronpair X1 is less likely to be generated in the transfer transistor Tr1,and since a minority carrier concentration is small, generation of adark current caused by the hole-electron pair X1 and a dark currentcaused by a diffusion current X2 from below the gate electrode 120 issuppressed (refer to FIG. 6).

As described above, in this embodiment, in a configuration in which thephotoelectric conversion device 10 is provided on the semiconductorsubstrate 11, the source of the transfer transistor Tr1 also serves asthe lower electrode 13A of the photoelectric conversion device 10, andthe drain of the transfer transistor Tr1 is connected to the gateelectrode 112 of the amplification transistor Tr3. Therefore, a pnjunction is not formed in the electric charge transmission path from thephotoelectric conversion device 10 to the semiconductor substrate 11,and generation of a dark current caused by the depletion layer at the pnjunction interface is allowed to be suppressed accordingly. Moreover,generation of a dark current caused by a minority electric chargegenerated in the transfer transistor Tr1 or a diffusion current isallowed to be suppressed by containing the wide gap semiconductor in theactive layer 13C of the transfer transistor Tr1. Therefore, thegeneration of the dark current is allowed to be suppressed, therebyachieving a unit configuration with high reliability.

Next, modification examples (Modification Examples 1 to 3) of thesolid-state image pickup unit 1 of the above-described first embodimentwill be described below. In the following description, like componentsare denoted by like numerals as of the above-described embodiment andwill not be further described.

(Modification Example 1)

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a sectional configuration of asolid-state image pickup unit according to Modification Example 1. Inthe above-described first embodiment, the organic photoelectricconversion layer 15 is so formed as to cover the region facing the widegap semiconductor layer 13 to protect the wide gap semiconductor layer13 from light in a short wavelength region; however, like thismodification example, a light-shielding layer 17 may be provided. Thelight-shielding layer 17 may be made of a material different from theorganic semiconductor forming the organic photoelectric conversion layer15, for example, tungsten or the like. Even in such a configuration,variation in transistor characteristics caused by light application tothe wide gap semiconductor layer 13 is allowed to be suppressed.

(Modification Example 2)

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a sectional configuration of asolid-state image pickup unit according to Modification Example 2. Inthe above-described first embodiment, the organic photoelectricconversion layer 15 is so formed as to cover the region facing the widegap semiconductor layer 13 to protect the wide gap semiconductor layer13 from light in the short wavelength region; however, like in thismodification example, for example, a UV-cut filter 18 configured toblock 80% or over of ultraviolet radiation (UV) may be provided on alight incident side of the photoelectric conversion device 10. Even insuch a configuration, variation in transistor characteristics by lightapplication to the wide gap semiconductor layer 13 is allowed to besuppressed.

(Modification Example 3)

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a sectional configuration of asolid-state image pickup unit according to Modification Example 3. Inthe above-described first embodiment, only the transfer transistor Tr1of the four transistors Tr1 to Tr4 is formed of the wide gapsemiconductor on the multilayer wiring layer; however, all of these fourtransistors Tr1 to Tr4 may be formed of the wide gap semiconductor.

Specifically, a wide gap semiconductor layer 19 is provided on themultilayer wiring layer 12, and this wide gap semiconductor layer 19 isconfigured to include the active layers and the sources/drains of thetransfer transistor Tr1, the reset transistor Tr2, the amplificationtransistor Tr3, and the selection transistor Tr4.

More specifically, as with the above-described embodiment, the transfertransistor Tr1 includes the wide gap semiconductor layer 19 and the gateelectrode 120 disposed to face a part of the wide gap semiconductorlayer 19. The part facing the gate electrode 120 of the wide gapsemiconductor layer 19 includes a region functioning as the active layerC1, and disposed adjacent to the active layer C1 to function as a sourceand a lower electrode 19A of the photoelectric conversion device 10, anda portion (FD 19B) functioning as a drain. The wide gap semiconductorlayer 19 is made of a similar material to that of the wide gapsemiconductor layer 13 of the above-described first embodiment, and thefunction, shape, and the like of the lower electrode 19A are similar tothose of the above-described lower electrode 13A.

In this modification example, respective gate electrodes 111, 112, and113 of the reset transistor Tr2, the amplification transistor Tr3, andthe selection transistor Tr4 are provided to face a part of the wide gapsemiconductor layer 19. The wide gap semiconductor layer 19 includes anactive layer C2 of the reset transistor Tr2, an active layer C3 of theamplification transistor Tr3, and an active layer C4 of the selectiontransistor Tr4 in order from the FD 19B of the transfer transistor Tr1.The active layers C2, C3, and C4 are so formed as to face the gateelectrodes 111, 112, and 113, respectively.

In such a wide gap semiconductor layer 19, the drain (FD 19B) of thetransfer transistor Tr1 functions as a floating diffusion, and may alsoserve as, for example, the source of the reset transistor Tr2. A regionbetween the active layers C2 and C3 may serve as, for example, a sourced1 shared between the reset transistor Tr1 and the amplificationtransistor Tr3. A region between the active layers C3 and C4 may serveas, for example, the source d1 shared between the amplificationtransistor Tr4 and the selection transistor Tr4. A drain d3 of theselection transistor Tr4 is connected to the vertical signal line Lsigthat will be described later through a wiring line 122. Moreover, thedrain of the transfer transistor Tr1 (the source of the reset transistorTr2) is connected to the gate electrode 112 of the amplificationtransistor Tr3 through a wiring line 121.

Like this modification example, a configuration in which all of the fourtransistors Tr1 to Tr4 are formed with use of the wide gap semiconductormay be adopted, and even in this case, similar effects to those in theabove-described first embodiment are allowed to be obtained. Moreover,in such a configuration, all operations of resetting, storage, transferof the electric charge, signal amplification in a source follower areallowed to be performed with use of the wide gap semiconductor layer 19.

It is to be noted that, in this modification example, a configuration inwhich all of the four transistors Tr1 to Tr4 are formed with use of thewide gap semiconductor is exemplified; however, the modification exampleis not limited thereto, and two or three transistors (including at leastthe transfer transistor Tr1 and the reset transistor Tr2) of the fourtransistors Tr1 to Tr4 may be formed with use of the wide gapsemiconductor. For example, a configuration in which the transfertransistor Tr1 and the reset transistor Tr2 are formed of the wide gapsemiconductor, and the other two transistors are formed on the surfaceS1 of the semiconductor substrate 11 may be adopted. Alternatively, aconfiguration in which the transfer transistor Tr1, the reset transistorTr2, and the amplification transistor Tr3 are formed of the wide gapsemiconductor and the selection transistor Tr4 is formed on the surfaceS1 of the semiconductor substrate 11 may be adopted.

Further, in the above-described first embodiment and ModificationExamples 1 to 3, a configuration of a front-side illuminationsolid-state image pickup unit is described as an example; however, theabove-described 4Tr configuration (a configuration in which the transfertransistor Tr1 containing the wide gap semiconductor serves as both thelower electrode 13A (19A) of the photoelectric conversion device 10 andthe floating diffusion) is applicable to a back-side illuminationsolid-state image pickup unit. Moreover, the solid-state image pickupunit may be any laminated solid-state image pickup unit (laminatesolid-state image pickup unit including a photoelectric conversion layeron a semiconductor) such as a longitudinal spectral solid-state imagepickup unit that will be described later and a solid-state image pickupunit in which photoelectric conversion devices of a plurality of colorsare two-dimensionally arranged (for example, in a Bayer arrangement) onthe semiconductor substrate 11.

Second Embodiment

[Configuration]

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates a sectional configuration of asolid-state image pickup unit (a solid-state image pickup unit 2)according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. As with thesolid-state image pickup unit according to the above-described firstembodiment, the solid-state image pickup unit 2 may be, for example, aCCD, a CMOS image sensor, or the like. It is to be noted that FIG. 10illustrates a region corresponding to one pixel of a pixel section (thepixel section 1 a illustrated in FIG. 18) that will be described later.Moreover, a back-side illumination configuration will be described belowas an example; however, a front-side illumination configuration may beadopted. In the following description, like components are denoted bylike numerals as of the above-described first embodiment and will not befurther described.

In the solid-state image pickup unit 2, a photoelectric conversiondevice 10 a may be formed on the surface S1 (a surface on a lightreception side) of the semiconductor substrate 11 with, for example, aninterlayer insulating film 123 in between, and the multilayer wiringlayer 12 may be formed on a surface S2 (a circuit formation surface) ofthe semiconductor substrate 11. In this embodiment, for example, aplurality of pixel transistors may be provided on the surface S2 of thesemiconductor substrate 11 as drive devices configured to perform signalreading from the photoelectric conversion device 10 a. Morespecifically, three transistors in total, i.e., a reset transistorTr5(RST), an amplification transistor Tr6(AMP), and a selectiontransistor Tr7(SEL) (that hereinafter may be simply referred to as“transistors Tr5 to Tr7”, respectively) are formed. The solid-stateimage pickup unit 2 has a so-called 3Tr configuration in which signalreading from the photoelectric conversion device 10 a is performed withuse of these three transistors Tr5 to Tr7. On the surface S2 of thesemiconductor substrate 11, these transistors Tr5 to Tr7 are provided,and a peripheral circuit configured of a logic circuit and the like isformed. Specific configurations of the transistors Tr5 to Tr7 will bedescribed later.

This solid-state image pickup unit 2 has a configuration in whichphotoelectric conversion devices configured to selectively detect lightin different wavelength regions from one another to performphotoelectric conversion are laminated in a longitudinal direction. Morespecifically, in the solid-state image pickup unit 2, for example, thephotoelectric conversion device 10 a using an organic semiconductor maybe provided on the semiconductor substrate 11, and, for example, twophotodiodes 11B and 11R may be so formed as to be buried in thesemiconductor substrate 11. With such a configuration, spectralacquisition of respective color signals of red (R), green (G), and blue(B) is performed in a longitudinal direction, and a plurality of kindsof color signals are obtained in one pixel without using a color filter.

(Photoelectric Conversion Device 10 a)

The photoelectric conversion device 10 a may be, for example, an organicphotoelectric conversion device configured to generate an electron-holepair by absorbing light of a selective wavelength (for example, greenlight) with use of an organic semiconductor. Moreover, the photoelectricconversion device 10 a has a configuration in which the organicphotoelectric conversion layer 15 is sandwiched between a lowerelectrode 20 (a first electrode) and the upper electrode 16 (a secondelectrode) as a pair of electrodes configured to extract an electriccharge generated by photoelectric conversion. Moreover, as with theabove-described first embodiment, photoelectric conversion regions ofrespective pixels are isolated from one another by the inter-pixelinsulating film 14. In this case, surfaces of the lower electrode 20 andthe inter-pixel insulating film 14 are planarized. Moreover, aprotective film is formed on the upper electrode 16, and if necessary, aplanarization film, an on-chip lens, and the like may be formed. It isto be noted that green (G) may be, for example, a color corresponding toa wavelength region from 495 nm to 570 nm both inclusive, and it is onlynecessary that the organic photoelectric conversion layer 15 is allowedto detect light in a part or a whole of this wavelength region.

The organic photoelectric conversion layer 15 may be formed at least ina region facing the lower electrode 20 serving as a photoelectricconversion region. In this embodiment, the semiconductor substrate 11 isinterposed above the wide gap semiconductor layer 21 that will bedescribed later; therefore, light in a short wavelength region isabsorbed by this semiconductor substrate 11, and thus, the light in theshort wavelength region is inhibited from reaching the wide gapsemiconductor layer 21.

For example, the lower electrode 20 may be provided for each pixel, andan electric charge (for example, an electron) may be extracted from thelower electrode 20. In this embodiment, this lower electrode 20 isconfigured of a conductive film having light transmittance. As such aconductive film, a similar material to that of the upper electrode 16described in the above-described first embodiment may be used.

Each of the photodiodes 11B and 11R is a photodiode having a pnjunction, and the photodiodes 11B and 11R are formed in this order in anoptical path in the semiconductor substrate 11. The photodiode 11B ofthem may be configured to selectively detect, for example, blue lightand allow an electric charge corresponding to blue to be stored therein,and may be so formed as to extend, for example, from a selective regionalong the surface S1 of the semiconductor substrate 11 to a region inproximity to an interface with the multilayer wiring layer 12. Thephotodiode 11R may be configured to selectively detect, for example, redlight and allow a electric charge corresponding to red to be storedtherein, and may be formed in, for example, a region below thephotodiode 11B (on the surface S2 side). It is to be noted that blue (B)may be, for example, a color corresponding to a wavelength region from450 nm to 495 nm, red (R) may be, for example, a color corresponding toa wavelength region from 620 nm to 750 nm, and each of the photodiodes11B and 11R may detect light in a part or a whole of each of thewavelength regions.

These photodiodes 11B and 11R each are connected to the transfertransistor through an unillustrated floating diffusion. It is to benoted that FIG. 10 illustrates only gates (gate electrodes 115 and 116)of transfer transistors of the photodiodes 11B and 11R.

In the semiconductor substrate 11, the above-described photodiodes 11Band 11R are formed, and a conductive plug 121B configured toelectrically connect the lower electrode 20 and the transistors (such asthe reset transistor Tr5 and the like) formed on the surface S2 of thesemiconductor substrate 11 to each other is so formed as to be buried.The conductive plug 121B may be made of, for example, a conductive filmmaterial such as tungsten embedded in a through via. A side surface ofthe through via may be desirably covered with, for example, aninsulating film such as silicon oxide (SiO₂) or silicon nitride (SiN) tosuppress a short circuit to silicon. This conductive plug 121B isconnected to a wiring line 121A formed in the interlayer insulating film123 and a wiring line 121C in the multilayer wiring layer 12. The wiringline 121A is connected to the lower electrode 20.

(Transistors Tr5 to Tr7)

Each of the reset transistor Tr5, the amplification transistor Tr6, andthe selection transistor Tr7 may be, for example, a field-effect thinfilm transistor (TFT) having three terminals, i.e., a gate, a source,and a drain, as with the transistors Tr1 to Tr4 of the above-describedfirst embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a pixel circuit including thephotoelectric conversion device 10 a and the transistors Tr5 to Tr7. Thepixel circuit of this embodiment includes one photoelectric conversiondevice 10 a and three transistors Tr5 to Tr7 in such a manner. A cathode(the lower electrode 20) of the photoelectric conversion device 10 a maybe connected to the gate (a gate electrode 112) of the amplificationtransistor Tr6, and may be connected to the source (a source 21A) of thereset transistor Tr5 through the wiring line 121A, the conductive plug121B, and the wiring line 121C. In other words, for example, the source21A of the reset transistor Tr5 may be connected to the gate electrode112 of the amplification transistor Tr6. The source of the amplificationtransistor Tr6 may be connected to, for example, the drain of theselection transistor Tr7. The source of the selection transistor Tr7 isconnected to the vertical signal line Lsig that will be described later,and the gate (a gate electrode 113) of the selection transistor Tr7 isconnected to the pixel drive line Lread that will be described later.

In this embodiment, the amplification transistor Tr6 and the selectiontransistor Tr7 of these transistors Tr5 to Tr7 are formed in proximityto an interface between the surface S2 of the semiconductor substrate 11and the multilayer wining layer 12. For example, the gate electrodes 112and 113 of the transistors Tr6 and Tr7 are formed on a surface on thesemiconductor substrate 11 side of the multilayer wiring layer 12, andactive layers and source/drain layers 114 of the transistors Tr6 and Tr7are formed in a p-type semiconductor well region of a surface layer ofthe surface S2 of the semiconductor substrate 11. In this case, thesource/drain layer 114 is shared between the amplification transistorTr6 and the selection transistor Tr7. It is to be noted that thesetransistors Tr5 to Tr7 may be shared between pixels (for example,between adjacent pixels).

On the other hand, the reset transistor Tr5 may be provided, forexample, below the transistors Tr6 and Tr7 in the multilayer wiringlayer 12.

The reset transistor Tr5 includes an active layer (an active layer 21C)containing a wide gap semiconductor, as with the transfer transistor Tr1of the above-described first embodiment. More specifically, the resettransistor Tr5 includes the wide gap semiconductor layer 21 provided inthe multilayer wiring layer 12 and the gate electrode 111 disposed toface a part of the wide gap semiconductor layer 21. The part facing thegate electrode 111 of the wide gap semiconductor layer 21 functions asthe active layer 21C, and the source/drain layers 21A and 21B are formedadjacent to this active layer 21C.

The wide gap semiconductor layer 21 may be made of a similar oxidesemiconductor to that of the wide gap semiconductor layer 13 of theabove-described first embodiment.

The following merits are obtained by forming, below the surface S2 (thecircuit formation surface) of the semiconductor substrate 11, the resettransistor Tr5 formed with use of the wide gap semiconductor in theabove-described manner. More specifically, even in a case where thephotodiodes 11B and 11R are formed in the semiconductor substrate 11 aswith this embodiment, the reset transistor Tr5 is less likely to serveas shielding of light entering the photodiodes 11B and 11R. Therefore,for example, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the reset transistor Tr5 may beprovided to be superimposed on the photodiodes 11B and 11R (in a regionfacing the photodiodes 11B and 11R). Therefore, the shape, size, andlayout of the rest transistor Tr5 may be freely designed irrespective ofthe layout of the photodiodes 11B and 11R. For example, as illustratedin FIG. 13, a reset transistor with a large gate length b is allowed tobe formed without being limited by a unit pixel P, and flexibility oftransistor design such as suppression of a short channel effect isenhanced.

Moreover, light in the short wavelength region is absorbed by theorganic photoelectric conversion layer 15 before reaching the wide gapsemiconductor layer 21; therefore, variation in characteristics of thereset transistor Tr5 in response to light application is suppressed. Inparticular, even light in an ultraviolet region shorter than 400 nm isabsorbed by the semiconductor substrate 11; therefore, a configurationresistant to deterioration in the wide gap semiconductor is obtained.

[Action and Effects]

In the above-described solid-state image pickup unit 2, when lightenters the photoelectric conversion device 10 a from the upper electrode16, a part (for example, green light) of the entered light is detected(absorbed) by the organic photoelectric conversion layer 15, as with theabove-described first embodiment. Therefore, in the organicphotoelectric conversion layer 15, an electron-hole pair is generated,and one electric charge (for example, an electron) of the electron-holepair is extracted from the lower electrode 20. On the other hand, lightnot absorbed by the organic photoelectric conversion layer 15 (bluelight and red light) is sequentially absorbed by the photodiodes 11B and11R in the semiconductor substrate 11, and photoelectric conversion isperformed on the light.

More specifically, in an electric charge storage state (a state in whichthe reset transistor Tr5 is off), the lower electrode 20 is reset to apredetermined voltage, and a relatively low voltage with respect to thereset voltage is applied to the upper electrode 16. Therefore, theelectron of the electron-hole pair generated in the organicphotoelectric conversion layer 15 is guided to the lower electrode 20that has a relatively high potential (a hole is guided to the upperelectrode 16). At this time, the gate electrode 112 of the amplificationtransistor Tr6 is in a so-called floating state.

In this embodiment, since the lower electrode 20 is connected to thegate electrode 112 of the amplification transistor Tr6, in the electriccharge storage state, the electron generated in the organicphotoelectric conversion layer 15 is stored in the gate electrode 112 ofthe amplification transistor Tr6 through the lower electrode 20, thewiring line 121A, the conductive plug 121B, and the wiring line 121C.

After that, during a reading operation, the stored electric charge isread to the vertical signal line Lsig that will be described laterthrough the amplification transistor Tr6, the selection transistor Tr7,and the like.

After the reading operation, when the reset transistor Tr5 is turned on,the gate electrode 112 of the amplification transistor Tr3 may be resetto, for example, the power supply voltage VDD. After that, when thereset transistor Tr5 is turned off, the state is transitioned to theabove-described electric charge storage state. As described above, avoltage signal, based on, for example, green light is obtained from thephotoelectric conversion device 10 a.

However, in this embodiment, since a transfer gate is not provided (aportion corresponding to a floating diffusion is not provided), it maybe desirable to remove reset noise in the following manner. Namely, itmay be desirable that a signal immediately after resetting of the gateelectrode 112 be held in a memory or the like, and a difference betweenthe signal immediately after the resetting and a signal at completion ofelectric charge storage be obtained.

On the other hand, electric charges, based on blue light and red lighton which photoelectric conversion has been performed by the photodiodes11B and 11R are transferred to a floating diffusion through transfergates (the gate electrodes 115 and 116). After that, the electriccharges are read to the vertical signal line Lsig that will be describedlater through an unillustrated amplification transistor, anunillustrated selection transistor, and the like. Thus, for example,voltage signals, based on blue light and red light may be obtained fromthe photodiodes 11B and 11R.

In this case, in this embodiment, as described above, the lowerelectrode 20 of the photoelectric conversion device 10 a is connected tothe gate electrode 112 of the amplification transistor Tr6, and isconnected to the source 21A of the reset transistor Tr5. Therefore, a pnjunction is not formed in a transmission path of an electric chargeextracted from the photoelectric conversion device 10 a, and as with theabove-described first embodiment, generation of a dark current caused bya depletion layer is suppressed.

Moreover, since the reset transistor Tr5 includes the active layer 21Ccontaining the wide gap semiconductor (for example, an oxidesemiconductor), as with the case of the above-described transfertransistor Tr1, generation of a dark current caused by the hole-electronpair in the reset transistor Tr5 and a dark current caused by adiffusion current from below the gate electrode 111 is suppressed.

As described above, in this embodiment, in a configuration in which thephotoelectric conversion device 10 a is provided on the surface S1 ofthe semiconductor substrate 11, the lower electrode 20 of thephotoelectric conversion device 10 a is connected to the gate electrode112 of the amplification transistor Tr6, and is connected to the source21A of the reset transistor Tr5. Therefore, a pn junction is not formedin an electric charge transmission path (at least a path from the lowerelectrode 20 to the floating diffusion), and generation of a darkcurrent caused by a depletion layer at a pn junction interface isallowed to be suppressed. Moreover, since the active layer 21C of thereset transistor Tr5 contains the wide gap semiconductor, generation ofa dark current caused by a minority electric charge generated in thereset transistor Tr5 or a diffusion current is allowed to be suppressed.Therefore, similar effects to those in the above-described firstembodiment are allowed to be obtained.

Next, modification examples (Modification Examples 4 to 6) of thesolid-state image pickup unit 2 of the above-described second embodimentwill be described below. In the following description, like componentsare denoted by like numerals as of the above-described embodiments andthe like and will not be further described.

(Modification Example 4)

FIG. 14 schematically illustrates a sectional configuration of asolid-state image pickup unit according to Modification Example 4. Inthe above-described second embodiment, the wide gap semiconductor layer21 has a configuration resistant to light application by adopting aback-side illumination configuration; however, in a case of a front-sideillumination configuration such as this modification example, alight-shielding layer 22 may be desirably provided.

The light-shielding layer 22 is provided above the wide gapsemiconductor layer 21 but below the organic photoelectric conversionlayer 15. Examples of a material of the light-shielding layer 22 mayinclude a similar material to that of the light-shielding layer 17 ofthe above-described Modification Example 1. Even in such aconfiguration, variation in transistor characteristics by lightapplication to the wide gap semiconductor layer 21 is allowed to besuppressed. Moreover, flexibility of layout design of the resettransistor Tr5 is enhanced. Therefore, similar effects to those in theabove-described second embodiment are allowed to be obtained.

It is to be noted that, depending on the intended use, such alight-shielding layer 22 may not provided, and the lower electrode 20may have a light-shielding effect with use of a metal material or thelike. Alternatively, an effect of reducing light application to the widegap semiconductor layer 21 is allowed to be obtained by forming theorganic photoelectric conversion layer 15 to cover a region facing thewide gap semiconductor layer 21.

(Modification Example 5)

FIG. 15 schematically illustrates a sectional configuration of asolid-state image pickup unit according to Modification Example 5. Alight-shielding layer 23 may be provided on the upper electrode 16 insuch a manner. Examples of a material of the light-shielding layer 23may include a similar material to that of the light-shielding layer 17of the above-described Modification Example 1. Even in such aconfiguration, variation in transistor characteristics caused by lightapplication to the wide gap semiconductor layer 21 is allowed to besuppressed. Moreover, flexibility of layout design of the resettransistor Tr5 is enhanced.

(Modification Example 6)

FIG. 16 schematically illustrates a sectional configuration of asolid-state image pickup unit according to Modification Example 6. Forexample, a UV-cut filter 24 configured to block ultraviolet radiation(UV) may be provided on a light incident side of the photoelectricconversion device 10 a in such a manner. Even in such a configuration,variation in transistor characteristics by light application to the widegap semiconductor layer 21 is allowed to be suppressed. Moreover,flexibility of layout design of the reset transistor Tr5 is enhanced.

(Modification Example 7)

FIG. 17 schematically illustrates a sectional configuration of asolid-state image pickup unit according to Modification Example 7. Inthe above-described second embodiment, only the reset transistor Tr5 ofthe three transistors Tr5 to Tr7 is formed of the wide gapsemiconductor; however, all of the three transistors Tr5 to Tr7 may beformed of the wide gap semiconductor.

More specifically, the wide gap semiconductor 25 may be provided in, forexample, the multilayer wiring layer 12, and the wide gap semiconductorlayer 25 may be configured to include the active layers andsources/drains of the reset transistor Tr5, the amplification transistorTr6, and the selection transistor Tr7.

More specifically, as with the above-described second embodiment, thereset transistor Tr5 includes the wide gap semiconductor layer 25 andthe gate electrode 11 facing a part of the wide gap semiconductor layer25. The part facing the gate electrode 111 of the wide gap semiconductorlayer 25 functions as an active layer C5 (corresponding to the activelayer 21C), and, for example, a source 25A may be formed adjacent to theactive layer C5. The wide gap semiconductor layer 25 is made of asimilar material to that of the wide gap semiconductor layer 13 of theabove-described first embodiment.

In this modification example, the gate electrodes 112 and 113 of theamplification transistor Tr6 and the selection transistor Tr7 areprovided to face a part of the wide gap semiconductor layer 25. The widegap semiconductor layer 25 includes the active layer C6 of theamplification transistor Tr6 and the active layer C7 of the selectiontransistor Tr7 in order from the reset transistor Tr5. The active layersC6 and C7 are so formed as to face the gate electrodes 112 and 113,respectively.

Even in such a wide gap semiconductor layer 25, the source 25A of thereset transistor Tr5 is connected to the lower electrode 20, and isconnected to the gate electrode 112 of the amplification transistor Tr6through the wiring line 121D. A region between the active layers C5 andC6 may serve as, for example, a drain d4 shared between the resettransistor Tr5 and the amplification transistor Tr6. A region betweenthe active layers C6 and C7 may serve as, for example, a source/drain d5shared between the amplification transistor Tr6 and the selectiontransistor Tr7. The source d6 of the selection transistor Tr7 isconnected to the vertical signal line Lsig through the wiring line 121E.

Like this modification example, in a 3Tr configuration, all of the threetransistors Tr5 to Tr7 may be formed with use of the wide gapsemiconductor, and even in this case, similar effects to those in theabove-described second embodiment are allowed to be obtained.

It is to be noted that, in this modification example, a configuration inwhich all of the three transistors Tr5 to Tr7 are formed with use of thewide gap semiconductor is exemplified; however, the modification exampleis not limited thereto, and two of the three transistors may be formedwith use of the wide gap semiconductor. For example, a configuration inwhich the reset transistor Tr5 and the amplification transistor Tr6 areformed of the wide gap semiconductor, and the selection transistor Tr7is formed on the circuit formation surface of the semiconductorsubstrate 11 may be adopted.

Moreover, the solid-state image pickup units having the 3Trconfigurations described in the above-described second embodiment andModification Examples 4 to 7 are applicable to both the front-sideillumination configuration and the back-side illumination configuration.Moreover, the solid-state image pickup unit may be any laminatedsolid-state image pickup unit such as a longitudinal spectralsolid-state image pickup unit and a solid-state image pickup unit inwhich photoelectric conversion devices of a plurality of colors aretwo-dimensionally arranged (for example, in a Bayer arrangement) on thesemiconductor substrate 11. However, in a back-side illuminationsolid-state image pickup unit with a two-dimensional arrangement, theeffect of suppressing light application to the reset transistor Tr5 andan effect of improving flexibility of layout as described above areallowed to be used more effectively.

(Application Example 1)

FIG. 18 illustrates an entire configuration of an apparatus using, aseach pixel, any of the solid-state image pickup units (the solid stateimage pickup units 1 and 2) described in the above-described first andsecond embodiments, the above-described Modification Examples 1 to 7,and the like. Thus, the solid-state image pickup units 1 and 2(hereinafter, description will be given with use of the solid-stateimage pickup unit 1 as an example) may include the pixel section 1 a asan image pickup area on the semiconductor substrate 11, and a peripheralcircuit section 130 configured of, for example, a row scanning section131, a horizontal selection section 133, a horizontal selection section134, and a system control section 132 in a peripheral region of thepixel section 1 a.

The pixel section 1A may include, for example, a plurality of unitpixels P (each corresponding to the solid-state image pickup unit 1)that are two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix form. Respective pixeldrive lines Lread (more specifically, row selection lines and resetcontrol lines) may be wired to, for example, respective pixel rows ofthe unit pixels P, and respective vertical signal lines Lsig may bewired to respective pixel columns of the unit pixels P. The pixel drivelines Lread each are configured to transmit a drive signal for signalreading from the pixel. An end of each of the pixel drive lines Lread isconnected to an output end corresponding to each of the pixel rows ofthe row scanning section 131.

The row scanning section 131 is configured of a shift register, anaddress decoder, and the like, and may be, for example, a pixel drivesection that drives respective pixels P of the pixel section 1 a fromone row to another. Signals outputted from the respective pixels P in apixel row selected and scanned by the row scanning section 131 aresupplied to the horizontal selection section 133 through the respectivevertical signal lines Lsig. The horizontal selection section 133 may beconfigured of an amplifier, a horizontal selection switch, and the likeprovided to each of the vertical signal lines Lsig.

The horizontal selection section 134 is configured of a shift register,an address decoder, and the like, and is configured to sequentiallydrive respective horizontal selection switches of the horizontalselection section 133 while scanning the horizontal selection switches.Signals of the respective pixels P transmitted through the respectivevertical signal lines Lsig are sequentially outputted to a horizontalsignal line 135 by selection scanning by the horizontal selectionsection 134, and are transmitted to the outside of the substrate 11through the horizontal signal line 135.

A circuit portion configured of the row scanning section 131, thehorizontal selection section 133, the horizontal selection section 134,and the horizontal signal line 135 may be formed directly above thesubstrate 11, or may be disposed in an external control IC.Alternatively, the circuit portion may be formed on another substrateconnected by a cable or the like.

The system control section 132 is configured to receive a clock suppliedfrom the outside, data indicating an operation mode, and the like, andto output data such as internal information of the solid-state imagepickup unit 1. The system control section 132 further includes a timinggenerator configured to generate various kinds of timing signals, andperforms drive control on peripheral circuits such as the row scanningsection 131, the horizontal selection section 133, and the horizontalselection section 134 in response to the various kinds of timing signalsgenerated by the timing generator.

(Application Example 2)

The above-described solid-state image pickup unit 1 is applicable to allkinds of electronic apparatuses having an image pickup function, forexample, camera systems such as digital still cameras and video cameras,and mobile phones having an image pickup function. FIG. 19 illustrates aschematic configuration of an electronic apparatus 3 (a camera) as anexample. The electronic apparatus 3 may be, for example, a video cameraallowing for shooting of a still image or a moving image, and includesthe image pickup unit 1, an optical system (an optical lens) 310, ashutter unit 311, a drive section 313 configured to drive thesolid-state image pickup unit 1 and the shutter unit 311, and a signalprocessing section 312.

The optical system 310 is configured to guide image light (enteringlight) from a subject to the pixel section 1 a of the image pickup unit1. The optical system 310 may include a plurality of optical lenses. Theshutter unit 311 is configured to control a light irradiation period anda light-shielding period for the image pickup unit 1. The drive section313 is configured to control a transfer operation of the solid-stateimage pickup unit 1 and a shutter operation of the shutter unit 311. Thesignal processing section 312 is configured to perform various kinds ofsignal processing on a signal outputted from the solid-state imagepickup unit 1. An image signal Dout that has been subjected to signalprocessing may be stored in a storage medium such as a memory, or may beoutputted to a monitor or the like.

Although the present disclosure is described referring to theabove-described embodiments and the modification examples, the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto, and various modifications arepossible. For example, in the above-described embodiments and the like,a case where, in the photoelectric conversion device formed on thesemiconductor substrate 11, the lower electrodes of respective pixelsare so provided as to be isolated from one another, and a signal chargeis read from each of the lower electrodes is described as an example;however, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and aconfiguration in which the upper electrodes 16 of respective pixels areso provided as to be isolated from one another, and signal charges areread from the upper electrodes 16 may be adopted.

Moreover, in the above-described embodiments and the like, a case wherean electron of the electron-hole pair generated in the photoelectricconversion device is extracted as a signal charge is described as anexample, however, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and ahole may be extracted as a signal charge.

Further, in the above-described embodiments and the like, as long as thesolid-state image pickup unit is a laminated solid-state image pickupunit configured by forming the photoelectric conversion device on thesemiconductor substrate, the solid-state image pickup unit may be alongitudinal spectral solid-state image pickup unit or may be asolid-state image pickup unit in which photoelectric conversion devicesof respective colors are two-dimensionally arranged in a Bayerarrangement or the like. Furthermore, as the longitudinal spectralsolid-state image pickup unit, a case where green light is detected bythe photoelectric conversion device 10 a on the semiconductor substrate11 and the blue light and red light are detected by the photodiodes 11Band 11R in the semiconductor substrate 11, respectively is described inthe above-described second embodiment, however, the present disclosureis not limited thereto. Namely, two or more kinds of photoelectricconversion devices configured to perform photoelectric conversion onwavelengths different from one another may be laminated on thesemiconductor substrate 11, or one kind or three or more kinds ofphotodiodes may be formed in the semiconductor substrate 11.

It is to be noted that the present disclosure may have the followingconfirmations.

(1) A solid-state image pickup unit including:

a substrate made of a first semiconductor;

a photoelectric conversion device provided on the substrate andincluding a first electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer, and asecond electrode in order from the substrate; and

a plurality of field-effect transistors configured to perform signalreading from the photoelectric conversion device,

in which the plurality of transistors include a transfer transistor andan amplification transistor,

the transfer transistor includes an active layer containing a secondsemiconductor with a larger band gap than that of the firstsemiconductor, and

one terminal of a source and a drain of the transfer transistor alsoserves the first electrode or the second electrode of the photoelectricconversion device, and the other terminal of the transfer transistor isconnected to a gate of the amplification transistor.

(2) The solid-state image pickup unit according to (1), in which

the transfer transistor includes a wide gap semiconductor layercontaining the second semiconductor, and a gate electrode disposed toface a part of the wide gap semiconductor layer, and

the part facing the gate electrode of the wide gap semiconductor layerfunctions as the active layer, and the wide gap semiconductor layerincludes a region located adjacent to the active layer and functioningas the source and the first electrode and a region functioning as thedrain and a floating diffusion.

(3) The solid-state image pickup unit according to (2), in which theamplification transistor is provided on a circuit formation surface ofthe substrate.

(4) The solid-state image pickup unit according to (2) to (3), in which

the plurality of transistors further include a rest transistor and aselection transistor,

a source or a drain of the reset transistor is connected to one terminalof a source and a drain of the amplification transistor, and

a source or a drain of the selection transistor is connected to theother terminal of the source and the drain of the amplificationtransistor.

(5) The solid-state image pickup unit according to (4), in which thewide gap semiconductor layer further includes a portion functioning asactive layers, sources, and drains of the reset transistor, theamplification transistor, and the selection transistor.

(6) The solid-state image pickup unit according to any one of (1) to(5), in which

the first semiconductor is silicon, and

the second semiconductor is an oxide semiconductor including one or morekinds selected from indium (In), gallium (Ga), and zinc (Zn).

(7) The solid-state image pickup unit according to (6), in which thephotoelectric conversion layer is provided to cover a formation regionof the wide gap semiconductor layer.

(8) The solid-state image pickup unit according to (6) or (7), in whicha light-shielding layer made of a material different from that of thephotoelectric conversion layer is provided above the wide gapsemiconductor layer in a region other than a light reception region ofthe photoelectric conversion device.

(9) The solid-state image pickup unit according to any one of (6) to(8), in which an ultraviolet-cut filter is provided on a light incidentside.

(10) A solid-state image pickup unit including:

a substrate made of a first semiconductor;

a photoelectric conversion device provided on the substrate andincluding a first electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer, and asecond electrode in order from the substrate; and

a plurality of field-effect transistors configured to perform signalreading from the photoelectric conversion device,

in which the plurality of transistors include a reset transistor and anamplification transistor,

the reset transistor includes an active layer containing a secondsemiconductor with a larger band gap than that of the firstsemiconductor, and

the first electrode or the second electrode of the photoelectricconversion device is connected to one terminal of a source and a drainof the reset transistor, and is connected to a gate of the amplificationtransistor.

(11) The solid-state image pickup unit according to (10), in which thereset transistor includes a wide gap semiconductor layer containing thesecond semiconductor, and a gate electrode disposed to face a part ofthe wide gap semiconductor layer.

(12) The solid-state image pickup unit according to (11), in which theamplification transistor is provided on a circuit formation surface ofthe substrate.

(13) The solid-state image pickup unit according to (11) or (12), inwhich

the plurality of transistors further include a selection transistor, and

a source or a drain of the selection transistor is connected to a sourceor a drain of the amplification transistor.

(14) The solid-state image pickup unit according to (13), in which thewide gap semiconductor layer further includes a portion functioning asactive layers, sources, and drains of the amplification transistor andthe selection transistor.

(15) The solid-state image pickup unit according to any one of (10) to(14), in which

the first semiconductor is silicon, and

the second semiconductor is an oxide semiconductor including one or morekinds selected from indium (In), gallium (Ga), and zinc (Zn).

(16) The solid-state image pickup unit according to (15), in which thephotoelectric conversion layer is provided to cover a formation regionof the wide gap semiconductor layer.

(17) The solid-state image pickup unit according to (15) or (16), inwhich a light-shielding layer made of a material different from that ofthe photoelectric conversion layer is provided above the wide gapsemiconductor layer in a region other than a light reception region ofthe photoelectric conversion device.

(18) The solid-state image pickup unit according to any one of (15) to(17), in which an ultraviolet-cut filter is provided on a light incidentside.

(19) An electronic apparatus provided with a solid-state image pickupunit, the solid-state image pickup unit including:

a substrate made of a first semiconductor;

a photoelectric conversion device provided on the substrate andincluding a first electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer, and asecond electrode in order from the substrate; and

a plurality of field-effect transistors configured to perform signalreading from the photoelectric conversion device,

in which the plurality of transistors include a transfer transistor andan amplification transistor,

the transfer transistor includes an active layer containing a secondsemiconductor with a larger band gap than that of the firstsemiconductor, and

one terminal of a source and a drain of the transfer transistor alsoserves the first electrode or the second electrode of the photoelectricconversion device, and the other terminal of the transfer transistor isconnected to a gate of the amplification transistor.

(20) An electronic apparatus provided with a solid-state image pickupunit, the solid-state image pickup unit including:

a substrate made of a first semiconductor;

a photoelectric conversion device provided on the substrate andincluding a first electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer, and asecond electrode in order from the substrate; and

a plurality of field-effect transistors configured to perform signalreading from the photoelectric conversion device,

in which the plurality of transistors include a reset transistor and anamplification transistor,

the reset transistor includes an active layer containing a secondsemiconductor with a larger band gap than that of the firstsemiconductor, and

the first electrode or the second electrode of the photoelectricconversion device is connected to one terminal of a source and a drainof the reset transistor, and is connected to a gate of the amplificationtransistor.

The present disclosure contains subject matter related to that disclosedin Japanese Priority Patent Application No. 2013-5274 filed in the JapanPatent Office on Jan. 16, 2013, the entire content of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations, and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. An imaging device comprising: a semiconductorsubstrate; an organic photoelectric conversion layer over thesemiconductor substrate; an oxide semiconductor layer between thesemiconductor substrate and the organic photoelectric conversion layer;an electrode between the oxide semiconductor layer and the semiconductorsubstrate; a first transistor at a surface of the semiconductorsubstrate; a wiring below the oxide semiconductor layer and electricallycoupled to a first terminal of the first transistor; and a light shieldabove the semiconductor substrate, the light shield overlapping thewiring in a plan view, wherein the oxide semiconductor layer iselectrically coupled to the first terminal of the first transistorthrough the wiring.
 2. The imaging device according to claim 1, whereinat least a part of the first transistor is disposed in the semiconductorsubstrate.
 3. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the firstterminal is a gate of the first transistor.
 4. The imaging deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the electrode is configured to transfer acarrier from the organic photoelectric conversion layer to the firstterminal of the first transistor.
 5. The imaging device according toclaim 1, wherein the first terminal is a gate of an amplificationtransistor disposed on the surface of the semiconductor substrate. 6.The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the first terminal isone of a source or a drain of a reset transistor disposed in thesemiconductor substrate.
 7. The imaging device according to claim 1,wherein the light shield comprises tungsten.
 8. The imaging deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the oxide semiconductor layer has a firstband gap that is wider than a second band gap of the semiconductorsubstrate.
 9. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the oxidesemiconductor layer includes at least one of indium (In), gallium (Ga),and zinc (Zn).
 10. The imaging device according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a wiring layer between the semiconductor substrate and theoxide semiconductor layer, wherein the electrode is disposed in thewiring layer.
 11. The imaging device according to claim 10, wherein theelectrode is located closer to the oxide semiconductor layer than thesurface of the semiconductor substrate.
 12. The imaging device accordingto claim 11, wherein the first terminal is disposed in the wiring layer.13. The imaging device according to claim 12, wherein the first terminalis located closer to the surface of the semiconductor substrate than theelectrode.
 14. An electronic apparatus comprising: an imaging devicecomprising: a semiconductor substrate; an organic photoelectricconversion layer over the semiconductor substrate; an oxidesemiconductor layer between the semiconductor substrate and the organicphotoelectric conversion layer; an electrode between the oxidesemiconductor layer and the semiconductor substrate; a first transistorat a surface of the semiconductor substrate; a wiring below the oxidesemiconductor layer and electrically coupled to a first terminal of thefirst transistor; and a light shield above the semiconductor substrate,the light shield overlapping the wiring in a plan view, wherein theoxide semiconductor layer is electrically coupled to the first terminalof the first transistor through the wiring.